Investing.com -- General Mills (NYSE:GIS) announced on Friday that it is recalling 60,000 bags of its Cascadian Farm frozen green beans after a single package tested positive for the presence of listeria, marking the second time the company has had to recall the brand in the last three months.
The recall pertains to frozen 16-ounce bags of Cascadian Farm green beans with the label "better if used by" June, 2017. The contaminated package in question was produced in June. In August, General Mills recalled 60,000 bags of 10-ounce Cascadian Farms frozen green beans produced in March.
Eating food contaminated with listeria can lead to listeriosis, a rare, serious illness marked by fever and muscle aches, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Listeriosis can also be preceded by diarrhea and other gastrointestinal symptoms, the FDA said. The symptoms can appear anywhere from a few days to a few weeks after consumption of the contaminated foods.
Earlier this year, the FDA along with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention investigated a listeriosis outbreak linked to pre-packaged caramel apples produced by companies in several states in the Midwest, as well as California. The CDC found 34 cases that required hospitalization from the contamination, including 11 that were pregnancy-related. The investigation covered a four-month period from October, 2014 until early-January, 2015.
In addition, the CDC linked a multi-state outbreak of listeriosis to the presence of listeria at several Blue Bell ice cream factories this spring. The case led to hospitalization of 10 people in four states in the Midwest and South. In May, Blue Bell was forced to eliminate more than 1,400 jobs after voluntarily suspending its operations due to the outbreak. Blue Bell resumed selling ice cream on a limited basis in late-August after several of its factories completed an extensive decontamination process.
General Mills acquired Small Planet Foods, the owner of Cascadian Farm in December, 1999. At the time, the organic foods company earned annual sales of $60 million, which amounted to only a sliver of the $1.8 billion in quarterly revenues earned by the food industry giant.
Shares in General Mills inched up 0.39 or 0.69% to 56.62 in after-hours trading.